Posted on 03/08/2002 8:05:50 AM PST by Deadeye Division
DeWine set to oppose oil drilling in Alaska
Friday, March 8, 2002
Jack Torry
Dispatch Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mike DeWine, breaking with the White House position, is expected to oppose an effort by Senate Republicans to permit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
The Ohio Republican's apparent decision deals a setback to President Bush, who has been eager to open up the refuge for oil exploration. DeWine also would be siding with environmentalists on one of the most divisive issues in the energy bill being debated by the Senate.
Although Mike Dawson, a spokesman for DeWine, said, "We're not prepared to discuss how the senator is going to vote on the issue,'' environmentalists said they were told yesterday by senior DeWine aides that he would oppose drilling.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has vowed to kill a Republican amendment that would permit oil drilling in the refuge, an area of 19.5 million acres. Under Senate rules, supporters of drilling will need the support of 60 senators to attach the amendment to the 400- page energy bill.
"We're happy to hear the news,'' said Jon Coifman, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It does show there is a growing wave of support for protecting the Arctic among both Republicans and Democrats.''
"We are pleased that Sen. DeWine is supporting us on this issue and recognizes that drilling in the Arctic Refuge won't solve our energy needs or make us energy-independent,'' said Glen Brand, the Sierra Club's Midwest representative, who is based in Cincinnati.
"We hope that he'll also consider supporting a sensible clean-energy plan which will allow Ohio families to breathe easier.''
Although oil companies say they would explore only a tiny area of the refuge, environmentalists have opposed the plan, arguing it would damage a pristine environment. The administration estimates the refuge holds 5 billion barrels of oil.
Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., was among the first Republicans to announce he would oppose the oil drilling. If DeWine joins him, it will put him and Sen. George V. Voinovich, R- Ohio, on opposite sides of what could be the most intense environmental battle of the year. Voinovich plans to support drilling in the refuge.
The House last year approved an energy bill that would allow the drilling. If the Senate rejects that, a conference committee of the House and Senate will have to devise a compromise before an energy bill can be sent to Bush.
Both the House and Senate bills are designed to reduce consumption of oil from foreign countries. The Senate bill, however, places a greater emphasis on conservation while the House measure is aimed at increasing domestic production.
In a related development, the Senate yesterday approved, 78-21, an amendment sponsored by Voinovich that would reauthorize liability insurance for the nuclear power industry, including Ohio's two nuclear plants, near Toledo and Cleveland.
The same protection was first passed by Congress in 1957 and would expire in August without congressional action.
Dispatch Environment Reporter Michael Hawthorne contributed to this story.
Jeffords II. What does DeWhine want from Bush for his vote that Bush has refused?
By ANN McFEATTERS
TOLEDO BLADE WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF
WASHINGTON - In one day, Sen. Mike DeWine (R., Ohio) has become the man to watch as the Senate debates a far-reaching energy policy bill, especially a crucial vote on whether to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The national environmental community was abuzz with excitement yesterday over the rumor that Mr. DeWine had decided to buck the White House and vote against drilling in the Arctic refuge.
Officials with the League of Conservation Voters said they heard it from the Sierra Club. By midafternoon, officials with the Wilderness Society said they were hearing it from everyone.
The league’s R. Scott Stoemer said he was thrilled because his group has given Mr. DeWine a score of only 14 percent on votes it considers environmentally correct.
"We’re speechless,’’ said Mr. Stoemer. "But [Mr.] DeWine has a reputation for being thoughtful. We thought he had it in him to come down on the right side. This could deal a severe blow to the oil and gas industry’s plan [to open up the refuge].’’
The Wilderness Society’s Peter Rafle was pleased.
"We’re delighted he joins a small but growing number of Republicans doing the right thing. He deserves a lot of credit,’’ Mr. Rafle said.
But Mr. DeWine’s office issued a huge "whoa.’’
"We are not prepared to discuss how the senator is going to vote on ANWR,’’ said spokesman Mike Dawson. Asked if the senator had talked to the White House about his vote, Mr. Dawson said, "He’s talked to a lot of people.’’
If Mr. DeWine decides to vote against drilling in the wildlife refuge, he could face the wrath of Republican colleagues and the White House. If he votes for it, he will be targeted by environmental groups.
Just this week Mr. Bush repeated his call for Congress to approve drilling in the wildlife refuge.
The Wilderness Society responded that despite record-breaking profits for the oil and gas industry last year, the administration "has made clear its intention to open up millions of acres of national forests and other public lands for oil, gas, and coal companies to feast on."
The vote on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is expected in the next two weeks.
This is blatantly dishonest reporting. While ANWR itself is 19.5 million acres -- the size of South Carolina -- the area they would drill on is as small as Ted Turner's ranch, or about 2,000 acres.
Ohio senator to reject tapping refuge for oil, pleasing eco-groups
By Bob Downing
Akron Beacon Journal staff writer
President Bush's beleaguered plan to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge now appears to have suffered a major blow from Ohio Republican Mike DeWine.
Two environmental groups, one in Washington, D.C., and one in Columbus, said yesterday that the U.S. senator's staffers told them he will vote against drilling in the Arctic.
In the last few weeks, DeWine's office has been flooded with hundreds and hundreds of telephone calls on the drilling proposal.
DeWine's spokesman, Mike Dawson, would only say yesterday: ``I don't have an announcement to make yet.''
Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., indicated the drilling proposal was dead, with Republican backers lacking enough votes to break an expected Democratic filibuster on the bill.
Even so, environmental groups were ecstatic yesterday about getting DeWine's support on the Arctic drilling issue.
``It's huge... and really good news,'' said R. Scott Stoermer, director of political communications with the League of Conservation Voters in Washington, D.C.
The Arctic drilling proposal has been called the centerpiece of Bush's national energy policy.
But environmentalists long have argued that drilling for oil in the Alaskan refuge would jeopardize wildlife on the 1.5 million acres of coastal plain and not solve America's energy needs.
A Senate vote on the issue could come as early as next week.
DeWine's move was ``very much of a surprise,'' Stoermer said. ``We all knew that he had an environmental component inside him... but who would ever have known that it would come for an issue like the Arctic?''
One environmental group, Protect the Arctic, listed DeWine among 12 key, undecided swing votes in the Senate.
Most reports had indicated that DeWine likely would support Bush on Arctic drilling, based in part on his earlier Senate votes.
Eco-groups have said DeWine supported their views just 13 percent of the time on key Senate votes in 2001.
A top official from the Ohio Oil and Gas Association expressed surprise at DeWine's planned vote and sympathy for the pressures the senator was facing.
It appears that DeWine may have been responding to his constituents, who were acting more on emotion than facts, said Tom Stewart, of the Granville-based organization that represents small independent Ohio oil and gas producers.
In general, the industry strongly supports drilling in Alaska because of the need to develop new American oil fields as a way to decrease the country's dependence on foreign oil, he said.
DeWine's vote would be ``a courageous step on his part... and reflects the interests of Ohioans,'' said Steve Sedam of the national Audubon Society in Columbus and one of Ohio's biggest anti-drilling supporters.
He said he was informed of the senator's plans yesterday afternoon by DeWine's staffers.
``We're thrilled and it's very good news because the Senate vote will be close,'' he said. ``And this is a vote with a lot of weight behind it.''
The vote would ``clearly mark a solid conservation vote on his part,'' Sedam said of DeWine. ``It bolsters his image as pro-conservation and as someone who listens to his constituents.''
How much DeWine's vote would put him at odds with Bush and other Republicans is unknown, Sedam said.
``We're pleased that Senator DeWine is supporting us on this issue and recognizes that drilling in (the wildlife refuge) won't solve our energy needs or make us more energy independent,'' said Glen Brand, the Sierra Club's Midwest representative in Cincinnati.
DeWine did not undergo ``a green conversion,'' Brand said. ``... But he apparently looked carefully and thoughtfully at the facts.''
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com
It brings me great shame to admit that this fool is representing my state. The only thing he can be counted on to support are tax cuts, and I don't even really trust him on that. He has voted for every gun control bill that has come up for a vote. The only reason he is in office right now is because his opponent was Howard Metzenbaum's son in-law and everyone here hated him worse. Him and Voinavich are equally worthless. The Senate is a lost cause for the Republicans until these RINO's are gone. Not much difference between them and the dems.
There was a time when that term was used. It was the 50s. It the term coming back to popular usage?
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